Make Your Own Halloween Special...

Come October, the TiVo and TV are abuzz with all kinds of Halloween specials. Well though I do enjoy what circulates out there this time of the year, there's something to be said for programming your own special.

Ideally I'd love to burn my favorite scenes and shows to a "Halloween Mix DVD." If only making a mix DVD were as easy as making a mix CD for somebody.
If only.
I'm sure there are those of you out there who are able to rip these items and burn them to a DVD. I... am not that guy.

But thanks to the wonders of the internet, I can assemble my own hour long Halloween Special right here on the blog with sources culled from various parts of the internet. So here we go.

First I'd open with the old CBS Special Presentation logo. This spinning logo when seen in mid to late October, usually heralded "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." To this day when I see it, it makes me instantaneously crave chocolate and want to sit on a couch with a bowl of popcorn and a candy apple.



Next up after the "Special" logo I'd put the 80s version of The Twilight Zone Intro.
This is one of the creepiest intros to a show I've ever seen. Here's what you get for your 30 seconds:
- A real spider (a thick-bodied TARANTULA actually).
- A creepy doll.
- A sinister Merry-Go-Round Horse.
- A dingy room.
- A freaking FETUS.
- A mask.
- A nuclear explosion.
- The ghost of Rod Serling.
- TWO skulls that morph through title.
- The creepy slowed-down-and-almost-sounds-backwards music.
- The Twilight Zone theme.
- A heartbeat.
You show me another TV show intro that has THAT much creepy per second. A good way to get in the Halloween mood.




Heavy Metal (1981) "Bomber Full of Zombies" Segment:

Zombies + World War 2 = Awesome.



Skeleton Dance (1929):
A good Halloween special has some downtime... parts that you don't care that much about, but are still festive. I use the model of "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" again as an example. When Snoopy is crawling around in the grass, playing World War I Flying Ace, you know you can focus on carving your Jack o' Lantern and just enjoy the creepy music and sound effects because that part is filler. It's fluff.
That's what this Skeleton Dance is. It's got music to it, and it's got skeletons, but if you look away to sketch out that toothless maniacal smile on your pumpkin, it's totally ok.



Alice Cooper: He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)
Homicidal maniac from the Friday the 13th series, Jason Voorhees? Yes please. Original Shock Rocker Alice Cooper? Absolutely. Catchy 80s tune featuring both? Done.




Disney's Legend of Sleepy Hollow

I may get some crap for this, but this is the "good part," without the Bing Crosby song and bookends. This is just Ichabod and the Headless Horseman. (And, frankly I couldn't find the full version on YouTube.)


What would a Halloween Special be without commercials? When else are you going to pee? Here's a vintage Frankenberry and Count Chocula commercial. Seems like you can only find the General Mills Monster Cereals around Halloween anyway. (Side note: Frankenberry has his fingernails painted like strawberries? Really? Really.)



Growing up in upstate New York I could always count on two things in October.
1) Carvel ice cream cakes in Halloween themes...



And 2) WPIX doing their "Shocktober" series. Just didn't feel like fall without it.



The Simpsons Halloween Special V:

They always say close with your best material and therein lies The Simpsons Treehouse of Terror/Horror/Halloween Special-thingy. Although these can be hit or miss each year, it's like pizza: even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

Here's one of the segments from V which features one of the best parodies of The Shining you'll ever see... something, something...



Creepshow 2: The Raft Segment:
And of course I'd close out the special with the longest segment of my Halloween special: "The Raft" from Creepshow 2. Based on a story by Stephen King, this is certainly the showpiece of the film. A nice little creepy story, that takes place in autumn, with a devilish twist on the end. A good way to close the show.
I offer you a link to it on YouTube while it lasts. If you'd like to watch the whole thing be sure to watch parts 10 through 14.











Well there it is. One personalized Halloween Special clocking in at 54 minutes and 28 seconds... just enough time to get the pumpkin seeds out of the oven before the spooky movie starts on the hour.

Question for the commenters: What movie would you run after your own Halloween special?